Door lock mounting bracket

ABSTRACT

A bracket for effecting factory preassembly of door latch mechanisms, including the door face engaging mounting plates and the operating knobs or handles, and clamped installation in an edge opening notch formed in a passage door merely by inserting the bracket of the preassembly endwise into the door notch and threading home a single clamp screw and nut assembly provided to effect factory preassembly. The bracket is composed of a pair of shell-like castings respectively fixedly secured to the latch mechanism mounting plates and formed at their meeting edges to form a telescopic connection which fixedly orients the mounting plates, operating knobs or handles, and latch operating mechanism upon factory assembly.

white Krantz States Patent [451 Oct. 10, 1972 57 ABSTRACT Inventor! will!" Kranll, 42 solfth Meridian A bracket for effecting factory preassembly of door Road, Youngstown, 01110 44509 latch mechanisms, including the door face engaging 22 Filed; Feb 19, 1971 mounting plates and the operating knobs or handles, and clamped installation in an edge opening notch [21] Appl'No': 116,824 formed in a passage door merely by inserting the bracket of the preassembly endwise into the door [52] US. Cl. ..292/337, 70/451, 70/462 notch and threading home a single clamp screw and [51] Int. Cl. ..E05b 9/08 nut assembly provided to effect factory preassembly. [58] Field of Search ..292/337; 70/451, 452, 448, The bracket is composed of a pair of shell-like 70/462 castings respectively fixedly secured to the latch mechanism mounting plates and formed at their meetl References Cited ing edges to form a telescopic connection which fix- UNITED STATES PATENTS edly orients the mounting plates, operating knobs or handles, and latch operating mechanism upon factory 2,795,447 6/1957 Schlage ..292/169 mbl 3,048,436 8/1962 Schiowitz ..292/337 3,518,854 7/1970 Krantz ..70/149 $399953} Primary Examiner- -Robert L. Wolfe Attomey-Strauch, Nolan, Neale, Nies & Kurz '7 37 54 55 Q I I 1.

46/ T. l J

PATENTEDum 10 I972 SHEET 1 [IF 3 INVEETOR mm M. mm?

ATTORNEYS PATENTEDUBT 10 I972 SHEET 3 OF 3 INVENTOR W/urm- M m/vrz fl zmzaw 1 DOOR LOCK MOUNTING BRACKET BACKGROUND OF INVENTION The present invention relates to door latches and more particular to mounting brackets for speedily mounting door latches in the edges of passage doors of homes and other building structures. In the past it has been almost universal practice to provide wooden or metal doors formed along the vertical edge opposite the mounting hinges with a suitably formed recess for housing the latch mechanism. The most widely employed recess is formed by through drilling the door inwardly from the latch mounting edge to form a through passage for housing the latching mechanism with the knob connector shaft or push-pull handle connector bar extending axially therethrough to protrude from v the opposite door faces and blind drilling the door edge to form a blind bore intersecting the housing through passage midway between its ends to receive the latch bolt usually encased in a metal guide housing. In cases where the latch mechanism is cased in a rectangular housing the intersecting blind bore is replaced by a chiselled out mortise recess opening through the door edge or the latch edge of the door is through notched from the latch mounting edge inwardly to a depth sufficient to receive the rectangular housing. In the mortise recess construction the latch housing lies between the opposing recess walls with apertured end tabs overhanging the door edge to receive securing screws for fixing the latch mechanism in the mortise recess. In the notched door edge lock mechanisms of the prior art, the latch housing is secured in the notch by lag screws extending endwise through the housing and threaded into the door body material forming the inner end wall of the notch. 1

ln all of these prior art constructions, trim plates adapted to be abuttingly screw fastened to the opposite door faces are required to complete the installation of the latch mechanism and assure a neat finished appearance. ln many cases the thickness of the latch mechanism housings does not exactly coincide with the door thickness due to thickness variations of the standard available doors. As a consequence, the trim plates and the door knobs or handles and the cooperating knob or handle connector shaft or bar of the prior art latch mechanisms must be constructed to permit relative axial shifting of the trim plates and knobs or handles along the connector shaft or bar. It follows, therefore, that installation of the prior art latch mechanisms requires extreme care in applying the housing and trim plate securing screws, which must thread into the door material closely adjacent the passages formed to receive the latch mechanism, to avoid splitting into the passages in the case of wooden doors and accurate location of the screw openings in the case of metal doors and separate fastening of the trim plates and, in many cases, the separate fastening of the actuating knobs or handles. Furthermore, in most of the prior art constructions, only partial factory preassembly of the latch mechanisms is possible and partial disassembly and reassembly by the installer is required to properly fit the latch to the door. As a consequence, it is usually necessary in the case of prior latch mechanisms for the ultimate user to secure the services of skilled carpenters to drill and/or chisel out the passages and cavities in the door required to house the latch mechanisms.

Whether. the ultimate user is a door manufacturer or the home owner, the proper installation of a door latch has been a tedious, time consuming chore, entailing considerable labor expense and oftentimes, particularly in the case of the home owner, a poorly fitted latch and a marred door.

As a result, most satisfactory prior art door latches have been inordinately expensive and have posed tedious installation problems due to the need of partial assembly or reassembly at the installation site. The mounting bracket of the present invention materially minimizes these installation problems in that the latch mechanism may be factory preassembled loosely on the mounting bracket for shipment and installation merely requires cutting a rectangular notch in the door edge at the point of installation, usually two straight line sawing operations, to form a simple rectangular through notch in the door edge vertically spaced to closely receive the bracket as will hereinafter be pointed out.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present mounting bracket comprises a simple two piece, open ended, metal box-like member the opposing elements of which are respectively fixedly removably secured to inner and outer latch mounting plates adapted to abuttingly overlap the notch defining inner and outer door faces and a single main or clamp screw and nut assembly extending through the lower body portion of the bracket and aligned screw passages formed in the respective mounting plates to effect preassembly at the factory and final installation. The parting line of the opposing elements formed by telescoping mating formations on the opposing elements is in a plane parallel to the inner and outer latch mounting plates so as to lie within the notch formed in the door edge when installed. The open end of the boxlike member abuts the inner end wall of the door notch when installed while the opposite closed end, formed with a lock bolt passage, lies in the plane of the notched door edge thereby housing the otherwise exposed latch mechanism in an armor-like shield between the mounting plates when installed. The nut of the clamp screw and nut assembly is fixedly secured to the outer door mounting plate. Factory assembly of the latch mechanism is completed by entering the headed clamp screw through the passage of the inner door mounting plate into sufficent partial threaded engagement with the nut to effect initial engagement of the telescoping mating formations. When so engaged, the factory assembled latch and bracket assembly properly orients the inner and outer mounting plates with the mounting bracket so the installer need only slip the bracket into the notch of the door and then tighten the clamp screw to draw the mounting plates toward each other into firm clamping engagement with the opposite door faces. Quick easy installation of the latch mechanism is thus assured since formation of the notch merely requires sawing to the proper depth along two lines drawn inwardly from the door edge at right angles and the striking of the severed door portion a sharp blow with a hammer in the case of wooden doors or insertion in a preformed notch in the case of metal doors.

It, accordingly, is a primary object of the present invention to provide a simple box-like mounting bracket composed of a pair of telescopically mating metal box forming elements preformed to be factory screw fastened to the respective opposing faces of inner and outer door latch mounting plates and a single main or clamp screw and nut assembly for drawing the assembled box forrning lements into initial telescoped mating relation at the factory to orient the door latch mounting plates and associated latch mechanism for shipment and subsequent clamped installation with an appropriately edge notched door.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Further objects of the invention will appear from the following description and appended claims when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the mounting bracket of the present invention assembled between the inner and outer mounting plates of a push-pull door latch mechanism with the bracket in the fully open position assumed just prior to factory tightening of the clamp screw to engage the telescoping formations of the bracket and effect factory assembly for shipping;

FIG. 2 is a view of the assembled latch mechanism and mounting bracket installed in a wooden door as seen from the notched door edge with portions of the normally exposed bracket end broken away to better illustrate the cooperation of the telescoping formations of the bracket, the attachment screw and the clamp screw and nut assembly;

, FIG. 3 is a face view of the installed latch mechanism as seen when viewing the inside door face;

FIG. 4 is a face view of the installed latch mechanism as seen when viewing the outside door face, the outside door handle having been removed to better illustrate the manner of fixing the nut of the clamp screw and nut assembly to the outside latch mechanism mounting plate;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the bracket casting carried by the inside (left) latch mechanism mounting plate of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a view of the bracket casting of FIG. 5 as seen from the side opposite that of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the bracket casting carried by the outside (right) latch mechanism mounting plate of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a view of the bracket casting of FIG. 7 as seen from the side opposite that of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of an alternate thicker bracket casting adapted for mounting on the outside (right) latch mechanism mounting plate of FIG. 1 to accomodate the mounting of the latch mechanism on the thicker conventional wooden doors illustrating the telescoping formation provided for guiding the bracket casting members into proper cooperating relation upon threading of the clamp screw into the nut to establish the factory preassembly of the latch mechanism and bracket and the final clamped installation of the latch mechanism in the notch seat formed in the door edge.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With further reference to the drawings wherein the same reference numeral is employed throughout the several figures to indicate the same part, the mounting bracket 10 of the present invention is illustrated for use with a push-pull door latch 11 of the type disclosed in applicants issued U.S. Letters Pat. No. 3,518,854 with which it is particularly suited. It will be appreciated, however, that the mounting bracket may be employed with latch mechanisms of varying types by suitably varying the shape of the base wall apertures and the location of the tapped screw passages to be hereinafter described in detail to pass the operating mechanisms of other latch mechanisms and to permit proper mounting on the trim plates normally provided for use with such other latch mechanisms.

Referring particular to FIGS. 1, 2 and S to 8, mounting bracket 10 comprises a pair of shell-like metal castings l2 and 13 having respective main bodies 14 through apertured at 15 in a suitable configuration to freely pass the latch operating mechanism indicated generally by numeral 16 (FIG. 1) carried by the oppositely related latch mechanism support and clamptype mounting plates 17. Support and clamp-type mounting plates 17 correspond to the mounting plates shown and more fully described in the aforesaid U.S. Letters Pat. No. 3,518,854. These plates 17 are through apertured as indicated at 18 (FIGS. 2 and 3) to pass the flat handle connector or power bar 19 through the door face engaging, body plate sections 20, bar 19 is formed at its opposite ends with cylindrical laterally directed beadings 21 joumalled in mating sockets 22 of the respective operating handles 23, 24. Handle connector or power bar 19 is constructed like the corresponding bar 131 of the aforesaid patent to actuate the bolt actuating lever mechanism 25 (FIG. 1), corresponding to the lever mechanism 61a of the aforesaid patent, which is joumalled on the left hand or inner door face mounting plate 17 of FIGS. 1 through 3. Since the latch mechanism 11 of this invention is constructed and operates in the same way as that of the aforesaid patent to actuate the latch bolt 26, reference may be had thereto for a more complete description thereof. One minor alteration has been made in the bar 19, namely, the addition of a further upstanding, laterally directed rib 27 (FIG. 2) located outwardly from the door face engaging body plate 20 of the outer door face engaging mounting plate 17. This rib forms no part of the present invention and its purpose will, therefore, not be described.

As clearly disclosed and more fully described in the aforesaid Letters Patent, handles 23 and 24 are journalled through cylindrical beadings 21 formed on the outer ends of rib formations 28 and 29 formed on body plates 20 and mating sockets 22 (FIG. 2) formed inwardly from the upper ends of operating handles 23 and 24. Rib formation 28 is identical to that of the aforesaid Letters Patent while rib formation 29 is modified in that it projects'from a thickened laterally directed formation 31 of generally rectangular configuration in cross section (FIGS. 2 and 3) formed with a longitudinally continuous T-slot 32 (FIG. 2) dimensioned to slidingly receive a clamp nut 33 (FIGS. 2 and 3) entered endwise into T-slot 32 from either end into laterally centered position. The inwardly directed lips 34 of T-slot 32 at the opposite sides of nut 33 are punch cut inwardly to form securing tabs 35 (FIGS. 2 and 3) for locking nut 33 in position centrally of T-slot 32 in coaxial alignment with a through passage 36 laterally passage 36 is provided in body 20 of inner clamp plate- 17 in coaxial alignmentwith passage 36 of the outer clamp plate 1 7. The purpose of nut 33 and passages 36 will presently appear.

The opposite ends of clamp-type mounting plates 17 are respectively closed by closure plates 37 (FIGS. 1 through 4) screw fastened to the laterally directed hollow, cylindrical beadings 38 and 39 formed on the interior faces of the clamptype mounting plates 17 as more fully described in the aforesaid Letters Patent by self threading screws 41 (FIG. 2) to complete the latch mechanism.

This overall mechanism forming the invention of the aforesaid Letters Patent is adapted for installation in a passage door 42 provided with an edge opening, rectangular latch recess or notch 43 by securing mounting bracket castings l2 and 13 to the opposing door engaging faces of the respective inner and outer clamp-type mounting plates 17 prior to assembling the outer mounting plate 17 and its handle 24 with the handle connector bar 19. To this end, the respective bracket castings are formed on one face of their walls 14 with respective endflanges 44 and 45 and respective side flanges 46 and 47-and adjacent the four comers of through apertures with respective tapped bosses 51. The opposite faces of the walls 44 of castings 12 and 13 along a line parallel to and inset a distance of approximately 15/ l 6 of an inch from the exposed end faces of end flanges 45 are formed with a rib 48 to roughly establish the desired forward overhang of mounting bracket 10 beyond the side closure plates 37 of latch mechanism 17 to support the free end of latch bolt 26 for sliding movement through bolt aperture 30 (FIGS. 2, 5 and 6) formed in end wall 44 of casting section 12. To assure a suitable overlapping of mounting plates 17 beyond the inner end 50 of door notch 43 (FIGS. 3 and 4), the length of casting sections beyond rib 48 in the direction opposite end walls 44 and 45 is preferably :4 inch less than the width of mounting plates 17 in a typical installation in a door having a notch 43 extending approximately 3 9/16 inch inwardly from the door edge. In such a typical construction, the tapped openings 52 of bosses 51 are disposed on vertically aligned centers inset respectively fa inch and 2 4 inches from rib 48 and through passages 53 are disposed on vertically aligned centers inset inch inwardly from the opposite vertical side edges of the inner and outer clamp-type mounting plates 17. Mounting of casting sections 12 and 13 is preferably effected by entering respective machine screws 54 (FIGS. 2 and 4) inwardly through the lowermost passages 53 of mounting plates 17 and threading them home into the lowermost topped passages 52 of castings l2 and 13 and then passing self-threading screws 55 outwardly through the uppermost tapped passages 52 of castings l2 and 13 and threading them home into uppermost passages 53 of mounting plates 17. By following this procedure, the respective casting sections 12 and 13 may be respectively fixedly secured to the clamp faces of the inner and outer door mounting platesr1-7 either before 'or after the latch mechanism is assembled to the inner door mounting plate 17 for unitary handling during association with the outer door mounting plate 17 and its casting section 13 to effect factory preassembly. Furthermore, due to the symmetric inward spacing of passages 53 and the symmetric spacing of tappedpassages 52 relative to ribs 48, the castings 12 and 13 may be reversed end-for-end in their assembly adapting the same castings for use in mounting either in left or right opening door edge notches 43 or for inswinging or outswinging doors.

Factory preassembly is eflected by means of a single main or clamp screw 57 entered through drilled passage 56 of inner door mounting plate 17, preferably before handle 23 and the final end closure plate 37 are finally assembled. However, since door handle 23 is provided with a through passage 58 (FIGS. 2 and 3) to permit the installer to enter a screwdriver and thread main screw 57 home to effect clamped installation of the preassembled latch mechanism with the door, it will be appreciated that by a choice of a proper head size of screw 57 and a related diameter of passage 58 entry of screw 57 may, if desired, be effected after complete as sembly of the handle 23 and end closure plates 37 with the inner door mounting plate 17 and handle connector bar 19. In either case, the threaded shank of clamp screw 57 extending outwardly from casting section 12 is manipulated to align it with passage 36 and nut 33 of the outer door mounting plate 17 so that, upon threaded engagement with nut 33, the respective door mounting plates 17 and their respective casting sections and latch mechanisms will be drawn toward each other as the factory preassembly is effected.

In order to establish an operative orientation of the respective door mounting plates 17 and their respective operating handles 23 and 24 during factory preassembly, the opposing edges of the end flanges 44, 45 and side flanges 46, 47 are preferably formed to provide at least a partial telescoping interfit. This is accomplished by providing one of the casting sections, section 13 as here shown, with axially directed flanges protrusions 61, 63 inset respectively from end face 53 and the side faces of side flanges 47 (FIGS. 7 and 8) sufficiently to slidingly cooperate with the inner faces of end flange 44 and side flanges 46 of casting section 12 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Flange protrustion 61, as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 8, is provided with a pair of axially, forwardly directed, spaced guide tabs 64 while similar axially, forwardly directed, guide tabs 64 are also formed adjacent the ends of the spaced flange protrusions 63 which terminate at the spaced bosses 51. Factory preassembly is effected when screw 57 is threaded into nut 33 suffrciently to draw the respective mounting plates 17 and their assembled casting sections 12,13 from the nonengaging position of castings l2 and 13 shown in FIG. 1 into a position where the tabs 64 are entered about halfway into the flanges 44, 46 of casting section 12. In this preassembled relationship, the spacing between the opposing wall faces 65 of mounting plates 17 when fitted with the mating casting sections 12 and 13 will be approximately 1 inch and the respective handles 23 and 24 will be slightly divergent in a downward direction as compared to the substantially vertical disposition of FIG. 3.

Assuming the latchand bracket assembly is to be installed in a standard 1 inch thick wooden door having a notch 43 defining a 2 3/16 inch X3 /2 inch rectangular edge opening recess, the preassembled latch and bracket assembly will permit ready endwise insertion of the mounting bracket into notch 43 without binding or scraping contact of mounting plates 17 with the opposite door faces. Once mounting bracket 10 bottoms on the end wall 50 of notch 43, the aligned end faces 53 of casting sections 12 and 13 will lie flush in the plane of door edge face 54 with the head of latch bolt 26 protruding an optimum distance therefrom. Installation is complete by entering a screwdriver through passage 58 of inside door handle 23 into driving engagement with the kerf in the head of the main or clamp screw 57 and threading screw 57 home in nut 33. This threading action will continue until the opposing wall faces 65, desirably intumed slightly at 66 (FIG. 2) along their upper and lower edges, are drawn into flush, clamped, abutting contact with the opposite door faces defining notch 43. The resulting embedding of the intumed edges 66 into the door faces and the clamped, abutting contact between the opposing mounting plate wall faces 65 positively and firmly secures the mounting bracket and associated latch mechanism carried by mounting plates 17 in notch 43. At the same time, it assures that disassembly from the outer face of door 42 cannot be effected since nut 33 and the exposed end of screw 57 protruding therefrom are fully housed by integral rib 29 of the outer mounting plate, the thickened portion of handle 24 extending upwardly from it socketed connection with rib 29, the outwardly and downwardly directed skirt 67 (FIG. 2) of outer mounting plate 17, and the two closure plates 37. Additional security can be assured, if deemed desirable or necessary, by internally spot welding the outer mounting plate closure plate 37 remote from door edge 54 to the back wall and skirt of mounting plate 17 or substituting rivet connectors for the securing screws 41 used to secure this plate 37 to the mounting plate. Similar security fastenings are not necessary for the opposite closure plate since the self-threading screws provide an interference thread fit in beadings 39 and the opposing door jamb of the closed door prevents ready access to the securing screws 41 of this closure plate with a tool adequate to overcome the frictional locking force of the interference thread fit.

This clamped installation provided by the mounting bracket of the present invention also automatically accommodates the minor thickness variations in the marketed standard I inch doors since fully clamped engagement can be obtained within a range of at least a Vs inch variation, the height of the protruding flanges 61, 63. In fully clamped relation, as slight spacing as seen in FIG. 2 is usually maintained between the opposed abutment edges of flanges 46 and 47.

DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATE EMBODIMENT To accommodate mounting of latch mechanism on marketed standard 1 inch doors, the present invention contemplates an alternate casting section 130 (FIG. 9), a longer screw 57 and a somewhat longer power bar 19, the increased length being provided by increasing the length of the bar end portions immediately inwardly of rib 27. Casting section 13a is identical to casting section 13 except that flanges 45a and 47a corresponding to flanges 45 and 47 is thicker as will appear from an inspection of FIG. 9 and terminates in a free end 66 at its junction with boss 51 at the inner end of casting section 130. Flanges 45a and 47a, like flanges 45 and 47, carry inset flange protrusions 61, 63 and tabs 64 for telescopic cooperation with casting section 12 which is identical to that of the previously described preferred embodiment. When factory preassembled as hereinbefore described, the alternate embodiment provides a spacing of about I "/a inch between the opposing faces 65 of mounting plates 17. This assures non-binding entry of bracket 10 into a similarly dimensioned notch 43 provided in the 1 $2 inch door in the manner heretofore described and positive clamping accommodating the minor thickness variations in such doors.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A mounting. bracket for mounting a door latch mechanism in an edge opening notch extending between the opposite faces of a passage door comprising a pair of shell-like castings each comprising a main body through apertured adjacent one end to pass the latch operating mechanism and peripherally disposed side walls along their opposite sides and the other end formed to matingly cooperate and house the latch operating mechanism and the latch bolt, the other end of at least one of said castings being through apertured to pass the latching head of the latch bolt, and said main bodies each being formed at spaced intervals around their respective through apertures with tapped through openings adapting said castings for respective screwed attachment to the opposing walls of the inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates of the latch mechanism; and a clamp screw and nut means, the screw of which is entered through a screw passage in one mounting plate and said apertures into cooperating engagement with the nut fixed to the other door face engaging mounting plate, for drawing said mounting plates into clamping engagement with the notch defining portions of the opposite faces of said passage door.

2. The mounting bracket of claim 1, wherein the peripherally disposed side walls of one of said pair of shell-like castings is formed with peripherally inset forwardly protruding flanges disposed to telescope into and engage the inner side wall faces of the other of said pair of shell-like castings to guide said castings into mating cooperation; and said clamp screw and nut means is preassembled with the latch mechanism mounting plates at the factory to provide a preassembled orientation of said mounting bracket and latch mechanism whereby the installer is only required to insert said mounting bracket endwise into the notch of said passage door and thread the clamp screw and nut means home to draw the inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates into clamping engagement with the opposite faces of said passage door to install the door latch mechanism.

3. The mounting bracket of claim 2, wherein the clamp screw and nut means comprises a nut fixedly secured to the outer face of said outer door face engaging mounting plate in coaxial relation to a through passage formed in said mounting plate and a headed clamp screw the shank of which is entered through an aligned passage formed in the inner door face mounting plate and the through apertures of said pair of castings into partial threaded engagement with said nut to establish the oriented factory preassembly.

4. The mounting bracket of claim 1, wherein the side walls of said one of said castings is sufficiently deep to accommodate the aperture passing the latching head of the latch bolt and the side walls of said other casting are of a lesser depth and the combined depth of said side walls adapts said door latch mechanism for installation in a standard door of preselected thickness.

5. The mounting bracket of claim 1, wherein the side walls of said one of said castings is sufficiently deep to accommodate the aperture passing the latching head of the latch bolt and the side walls of said other casting are of a lesser depth and the combined depth of said side walls adapts said door latch mechanism for installation in any standard 1 inch thick door.

6. The mounting bracket of claim 1, wherein the side walls of said one of said castings is sufficiently deep to accommodate the aperture passing the latching head of the latch bolt and the side walls of said other casting are of a lesser depth and the combined depth of said side walls adapts said door latch mechanism for installation of any standard 1 inch thick door.

7. The mounting bracket of claim 4, wherein the side walls of lesser depth are formed with peripherally inset, fowardly protruding flanges disposed to telescope into and engage the inner side wall faces of said one casting to guide said castings into mating cooperation and said clamp screw and nut means is preassembled with the latch mechanism mounting plates at the factory to pro vide a preassembled orientatidn of said mounting bracket and latch mechanism.

8. In combination, door latch mechanism comprising inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates, latch bolt actuating means extending between and carried by said inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates, said inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates having aligned through apertures and said latch bolt actuating means including an actuator bar the opposite ends of which extend through and beyond the oppositely directed mounting plate faces and operably mount hand hold members; bracket means for mounting said door latch mechanism in an edge opening notch formed in a passage door comprising a shell-like casing housing said latch bolt actuating mechanism, said shell-like casing defining an apertured end wall disposed to span the open end of said door notch and pass the free end of the latch bolt and being formed by a pair of castings respectively fixedly secured in face abutting relation to the opposing faces of said inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates, having enlarged through passages in their respective abutment faces to freely pass said latch bolt actuating mechanism and said actuator bar and being I formed at their meeting edges to provide a telescopic interfit in a plane parallelling the opposing faces of said inner and outer d r face en a n moun in 1 es; and clamp screw an nut mean c% ogerativeiy nga ging said inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates for establishing a factory preassembly of said mounting plates and shell-like casing in which the telescopic interfit of said casing parts is initially established thereby conditioning said preassembly for endwise insertion of said bracket means into said door notch and clamped installation upon threading said clamp screw and nut means home to draw said mounting plates into clamped bearing engagement with the notch defining portions of the opposing door faces.

9. The combination of claim 8, wherein the end wall of one of said pair of castings is through apertured to pass the end of the latch bolt, said one of said pair of castings is fixedly secured to the inner door face engaging mounting plate, the nut of said clamp screw and nut means is fixedly mounted on the outer door face engaging mounting platein concealed relation to the exposed face of said outer door face engaging mounting plate in coaxial relation to a through screw passage provided in the inner door face engaging mounting plate, and the clamp screw comprises a headed screw the shank of which is entered through said screw passage from the exposed side of said inner door face engaging mounting plate into threaded engagement with said nut whereby, upon initial threading of said screw and nut during factory preassembly, the inner door face engaging mounting plate and its associated casting are drawn as a unit toward said outer door face engaging mounting plate to establish initial telescoping engagement of said pair of castings and proper relative orientation of said mounting plates.

10. The combination of claim 8, wherein said hand hold members comprise respective plate-like lever members and the member joumalled on said inner door face engaging mounting plate comprises a pull lever and is through apertured in alignment with the screw head to enable the installer to engage a screwdriver with the clamp screw and establish clamped installation of said latch mechanism without disturbing the factory preassembly of said latch mechanism.

11: The combination of claim 8, wherein the telescoping formations of said pair of castings are of a length sufficient to assure free movement of the mounting plates inwardly from the door edge into position overlying the opposed door faces when factory preassembly is effected and full clamped engagement of the mounting plates with the opposed door faces when the clamp screw is threaded home thereby assuring a latch mechanism capable of accommodating normal thickness variations of standard doors of a specified thickness.

12. The combination of claim 8, wherein the opposing faces of said door face engaging mounting plates at least at their upper and lowermost edges are intumed slightly to form protrusions which embed themselves into the door surface to augment the clamping effect and prevent retrograde movement of the assembled door latch mechanism relative to the door notch. 

1. A mounting bracket for mounting a door latch mechanism in an edge opening notch extending between the opposite faces of a passage door comprising a pair of shell-like castings each comprising a main body through apertured adjacent one end to pass the latch operating mechanism and peripherally disposed side walls along their opposite sides and the other end formed to matingly cooperate and house the latch operating mechanism and the latch bolt, the other end of at least one of said castings being through apertured to pass the latching head of the latch bolt, and said main bodies each being formed at spaced intervals around their respective through apertures with tapped through openings adapting said castings for respective screwed attachment to the opposing walls of the inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates of the latch mechanism; and a clamp screw and nut means, the screw of which is entered through a screw passage in one mounting plate and said apertures into cooperating engagement with the nut fixed to the other door face engaging mounting plate, for drawing said mounting plates into clamping engagement with the notch defining portions of the opposite faces of said passage door.
 2. The mounting bracket of claim 1, wherein the peripherally disposed side walls of one of said pair of shell-like castings is formed with peripherally inset forwardly protruding flanges disposed to telescope into and engage the inner side wall faces of the other of said pair of shell-like castings to guide said castings into mating cooperation; and said clamp screw and nut means is preassembled with the latch mechanism mounting plates at the factory to provide a preassembled orientation of said mounting bracket and latch mechanism whereby the installer is only required to insert said mounting bracket endwise into the notch of said passage door and thread the clamp screw and nut means home to draw the inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates into clamping engagement with the opposite faces of said passage door to instalL the door latch mechanism.
 3. The mounting bracket of claim 2, wherein the clamp screw and nut means comprises a nut fixedly secured to the outer face of said outer door face engaging mounting plate in coaxial relation to a through passage formed in said mounting plate and a headed clamp screw the shank of which is entered through an aligned passage formed in the inner door face mounting plate and the through apertures of said pair of castings into partial threaded engagement with said nut to establish the oriented factory preassembly.
 4. The mounting bracket of claim 1, wherein the side walls of said one of said castings is sufficiently deep to accommodate the aperture passing the latching head of the latch bolt and the side walls of said other casting are of a lesser depth and the combined depth of said side walls adapts said door latch mechanism for installation in a standard door of preselected thickness.
 5. The mounting bracket of claim 1, wherein the side walls of said one of said castings is sufficiently deep to accommodate the aperture passing the latching head of the latch bolt and the side walls of said other casting are of a lesser depth and the combined depth of said side walls adapts said door latch mechanism for installation in any standard 1 3/8 inch thick door.
 6. The mounting bracket of claim 1, wherein the side walls of said one of said castings is sufficiently deep to accommodate the aperture passing the latching head of the latch bolt and the side walls of said other casting are of a lesser depth and the combined depth of said side walls adapts said door latch mechanism for installation of any standard 1 3/4 inch thick door.
 7. The mounting bracket of claim 4, wherein the side walls of lesser depth are formed with peripherally inset, fowardly protruding flanges disposed to telescope into and engage the inner side wall faces of said one casting to guide said castings into mating cooperation and said clamp screw and nut means is preassembled with the latch mechanism mounting plates at the factory to provide a preassembled orientation of said mounting bracket and latch mechanism.
 8. In combination, door latch mechanism comprising inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates, latch bolt actuating means extending between and carried by said inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates, said inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates having aligned through apertures and said latch bolt actuating means including an actuator bar the opposite ends of which extend through and beyond the oppositely directed mounting plate faces and operably mount hand hold members; bracket means for mounting said door latch mechanism in an edge opening notch formed in a passage door comprising a shell-like casing housing said latch bolt actuating mechanism, said shell-like casing defining an apertured end wall disposed to span the open end of said door notch and pass the free end of the latch bolt and being formed by a pair of castings respectively fixedly secured in face abutting relation to the opposing faces of said inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates, having enlarged through passages in their respective abutment faces to freely pass said latch bolt actuating mechanism and said actuator bar and being formed at their meeting edges to provide a telescopic interfit in a plane parallelling the opposing faces of said inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates; and clamp screw and nut means cooperatively engaging said inner and outer door face engaging mounting plates for establishing a factory preassembly of said mounting plates and shell-like casing in which the telescopic interfit of said casing parts is initially established thereby conditioning said preassembly for endwise insertion of said bracket means into said door notch and clamped installation upon threading said clamp screw and nut means home to draw said mounting plates into clamped bearing engagement with the notch defining portions of the opposing door faces.
 9. The combination of claim 8, wherein the end wall of one of said pair of castings is through apertured to pass the end of the latch bolt, said one of said pair of castings is fixedly secured to the inner door face engaging mounting plate, the nut of said clamp screw and nut means is fixedly mounted on the outer door face engaging mounting plate in concealed relation to the exposed face of said outer door face engaging mounting plate in coaxial relation to a through screw passage provided in the inner door face engaging mounting plate, and the clamp screw comprises a headed screw the shank of which is entered through said screw passage from the exposed side of said inner door face engaging mounting plate into threaded engagement with said nut whereby, upon initial threading of said screw and nut during factory preassembly, the inner door face engaging mounting plate and its associated casting are drawn as a unit toward said outer door face engaging mounting plate to establish initial telescoping engagement of said pair of castings and proper relative orientation of said mounting plates.
 10. The combination of claim 8, wherein said hand hold members comprise respective plate-like lever members and the member journalled on said inner door face engaging mounting plate comprises a pull lever and is through apertured in alignment with the screw head to enable the installer to engage a screwdriver with the clamp screw and establish clamped installation of said latch mechanism without disturbing the factory preassembly of said latch mechanism.
 11. The combination of claim 8, wherein the telescoping formations of said pair of castings are of a length sufficient to assure free movement of the mounting plates inwardly from the door edge into position overlying the opposed door faces when factory preassembly is effected and full clamped engagement of the mounting plates with the opposed door faces when the clamp screw is threaded home thereby assuring a latch mechanism capable of accommodating normal thickness variations of standard doors of a specified thickness.
 12. The combination of claim 8, wherein the opposing faces of said door face engaging mounting plates at least at their upper and lowermost edges are inturned slightly to form protrusions which embed themselves into the door surface to augment the clamping effect and prevent retrograde movement of the assembled door latch mechanism relative to the door notch. 